Empty Promises
by TRF
Summary: He said he'd always be there. But always is a long time, and anything can happen. ONE-SHOT


                                                _Empty Promises _

_                                                A one-shot by TRF-Chan_

            She stared out at the howling storm just outside the snug safety of the house in which she currently resided.  To an outsider, she would've appeared calm and composed, but those who knew her—if, indeed, there were any left—would've known troubled she was.  

The woman in question had fair blonde hair, perfect skin, and most noticeable of all, piercing ice blue eyes.  The afore-mentioned outsider wouldn't have thought her a day over 25, but in all truth, she had passed the 100 mark years ago.  She was alone in the world, and at the moment wanted nothing more than to fling herself out into the ferocious storm and hope that it would tear her life from her.  

            "You told me that you'd always be there," she muttered to none but the empty house, "but I guess 'always' is a long time, and I should've known everything that could go wrong," the woman let one cerulean tear fall from her eyes as she thought of a day so long ago, it was beginning to feel more like a dream than anything else.

            _"Juuhachi, you can't marry a human!" yelled a raven-haired man, his eyes, the same blue as his sister's and every bit as intense, were narrowed in anger._

_            "Why?  Just because you don't approve?  I love Krillin Juunana, can't you see that?" the woman remembered saying to her brother.  She now fully regretted the angry, accusatory way she'd glared at him, the way she had spat more than said his name, as though it were dirty word not fit to come from her lips._

_            Juunana crossed his arms, "I see it, but I don't like it, sister.  You will far outlive him, you'll outlive your children, grandchildren—well really, you'll outlive every descendent ever produced from your union to this man in the end.  It's true I don't like him, but it's also true I'm looking for your best interests," he surveyed her coolly, waiting for her reaction._

_            She remembered biting her lip so hard she tasted blood.  Her brother had brought up the one thing she refused to think about.  The virtual immortality of a cyborg.  But she couldn't bear letting him see her worries, "What you said is true," she said, keeping her voice strong, and standing tall despite the fact that she was quaking inside, "but that's the future, and I'm going to live for the present, thank you," she finished curtly.  _

_            He stared at her a long, hard moment.  She couldn't ever forget the way he'd looked then.  He didn't want to let go of the past, but he knew that she was ready to move forward with her life.  He didn't want her to get hurt, but he didn't want to constrict her so much that that was all the ended up happening anyway.  Finally, he replied, "Fine, Juuhachi.  You go ahead with this.  Just remember though, I'll always be here.  If you ever need me…you know where I'll be," he paused for a moment, "from now until the end of all things, probably," he added dryly, with a weak grin._

_            She nodded, her anger draining from her as quickly as it had come, "Thank you, Juunana."_

            And yet, he wasn't.  He was long gone, and she felt it partly her fault.  If she would've visited more often…if she would've picked up on something being wrong with him during those last few days at least.  But no.  He had merged with a being from hell that appeared to be his virtual clone, and it had taken over.  It had forced the part that was still her brother to murder her husband, and Kami-Sama knows who else.  And he'd needed to be destroyed.  Then, to top that off, she had needed to use it to the advantages of everyone else that he refused to let It touch her.  He had cared for her safety even to the end.

            "And in a matter of minutes, there was no more 'always'," she murmured hoarsely.  

Ok, was that ok?  Good?  Wonderful?  Horrible?  Tear-inducing?  I don't usually write one-shots, or angst for that matter, but I was in a bit of a depressed mood, and I was thinking of the cyborg twins.  Reviews are vastly appreciated, and so is any advice.

~TRF-Chan


End file.
